Trip Prep

Hold your breath. I'm going on another trip. This one for a lepidopteran course in southeast Arizona. I'll be doing a little collecting after it's over. Which reminds me that I need to get in the herbarium today and do a little investigative work on site locations.

But today I am preparing for the trip. I started by cleaning out the fridge. You would think, having been gone the better part of two months this summer, that my fridge would already be empty. But noooooooooooo....

Today I threw out expired yogurt, salsa and spaghetti sauce with mold on it, a liquefied green pepper, and a carton of eggs that expired in late JUNE! I didn't buy groceries this week because...well...what would be the use? My fridge is empty. Needs a good cleaning.

Keeps my mind off the fella a la hot date, because I've convinced myself he's just not interested. Beckie says I'm crazy. He called last night, she says. But he doesn't exude enthusiasm, I said.

Sheesh. It is really hard being this crazy sometimes. But at least my fridge won't stink when I get back.

New Living Arrangements

Top left: Before. Top right and bottom: After

Yesterday, despite having strained my back the day before, I tackled the problem on my new "open" living plan. The living area/dining room sans the dining room suite has been a perplexing problem. It is a 23' x 13.5' room making furniture arrangement a challenge. I don't really like the TV being the focal point of a room, so I resisted moving the entertainment center. After a lot of pondering, I gave in and moved the entertainment center along the long wall between the windows. I put the sleeper couch along the front wall near the front door, left the futon in place, and moved the la-z-boy chair across the room to the other side. The end result: Brilliant. I have to admit, I never liked having that coffee table interrupt the flow from the front door to the kitchen. Now, it's out of the way. I was even able to find a place for the chair Bek donated to one side of the entertainment center. Now I have a decent amount of open space to exercise myself and Jake. Jake has his own little "alcove" for his bed, which is out of my way. It will be interesting to see where Nevada wants her bed. Anyhoo, now I have a great setup with lots of seating and conversation areas for parties. Plus, I have a choice of seating when I actually do turn on the television, and easier access to a plug when I want to plug in my computer out there.

The real bonus here is that I was able to move the sleeper couch out of the spare bedroom. Now I have room for a sewing table in the spare bedroom. I think I'm going to wait until after the garage sale and see if I don't get enough money to afford a folding table so that the sewing table isn't a permanent fixture. I wonder if this will make me more apt to use that computer room. At the end of this little house revamp, I may feel like I'm in a completely new place!